Part Two:
King Ashura lead them down the hallway when Tomoyo asked, "How did this happen?"
The king took a deep breath and paused before opening a thick, oak door. "I'll tell you out here, but please avoid bring it up again, if you can. You see, my other son, Fai, did the casting against my rules. His goal was to grab a small, harmless object from another dimension and bring it here. Unfortunately, he doesn't realize the magnitude of his own power, sometimes.
"He's an over ambitious mage that I haven't parented as well as I should have. You must understand, the boy was trying to please me by showing me he could accomplish things beyond what I taught him. He engages in risky behaviors a lot and gives no thought to consequences. That's because I've haven't imposed many on him."
"But I may need to ask details of the spell's caster," Tomoyo said.
Ashura took another deep breath and let it out in a slow sigh. "There is a complication that will become evident when you see my sons. They have the closest bond two people can have with one another. If I lose one, I will lose the other if this isn't fixed."
Kurogane was curious, now. What kind of bond could two people have that was as strong as the king was implying? He watched as the door opened. The room was full of books and some brass and crystal objects Kurogane couldn't identify.
There were two beds with thick, navy drapes around them. The only light was a soft glow from a huge fireplace that also fought back the cold. Kurogane glanced over at the windows where a bleak, wintry storm battered against the castle.
A slight rustle brought his attention back to where a person knelt beside one of the beds. The person stood and turned towards them. Kurogane had never seen such fair hair. His eyes, even though they were swollen from crying, still had an alluring quality. Blue eyes, that particular shade, were an oddity to Kurogane, so he was careful not to stare.
"Fai, these are the people here to help Yuui. This is Princess Tomoyo and her escort. Pardon me, I didn't get your name?" Ashura asked.
"Just call me Kurogane," he said simply, as his eyes drew themselves back to the pathetic, blond mage.
"This is my son, Fai Fluorite and on the bed is Yuui Fluorite."
"Thank you for coming to heal my brother; I'm in your debt. But, he's getting colder," Fai said, pulling back the bed curtain.
That's when understanding hit Kurogane. The young man on the bed had the same face as Fai. Tomoyo then looked at Ashura and said, "They're identical twins. That's why you're afraid you'll lose both."
"Now you see why I'm so desperate?"
Kurogane watched Fai take socks from a bureau and sit on his twin's bed. He placed Yuui's bare feet on his lap and started rubbing them vigorously. "So what do you do to stop this?"
"There are things to stave it off, but to cure it, I need the poison from a demon," Tomoyo said.
"I'll find a demon," Fai said. "How do you track them and kill them?"
"They can't be killed outright. If they're killed, their poison spoils within minutes. We need fresh poison," Tomoyo explained.
"Then I'll bring you one," Fai said placidly.
Kurogane gave a snort towards the delicate looking mage. "It's not something for an amateur. Let me deal with finding them. Stay here and look after your brother, because you'll be in my way."
Kurogane was unnerved when the blond mage put the socks on his twin's feet and stood, giving him an eerie smile. It was hollow enough for him to wonder if he was being patronized. The mage then picked up a tall, gold staff encrusted with crystals at one end.
"Well, aren't you quite brave, Mr. Black?" The tone was mocking Kurogane.
"Kurogane is my name!" He shouted, heedless of the idiot's father just feet away.
Fai waved his hand in the air. "Well, Kurgs, you don't know how to make your way through a Celes winter. So it looks like I'll be tagging along."
"Fai is right," Ashura said. Kurogane scowled as Fai gave him a gloating glance. "But, I'll be the one to go. You need to stay with Yuui."
Fai looked disappointed. "I need to to do this. I need to make this up to him."
"I don't think it's a good idea for..." Ashura said, but halted when a page came into the bedroom.
"Majesty! Vercasta has just been attacked."
"Was anyone harmed?"
"No, sir. The town used wards, and it repelled the creatures. Unfortunately, the constables weren't able to capture any."
"Get my sled ready," he ordered. The page then turned and ran off.
"You can't leave me here! Take me with you," Fai said in a petulant fit.
King Ashura turned to Fai and said, "Don't make me castigate you in front of strangers. You're rude behave is unacceptable."
Kurogane wanted to scoff at Fai's behavior. If he would have ever treated visitors like that, his parents would have harshly punished him. Kurogane didn't think King Ashura was exaggerating about being over-indulgent one bit.
Suddenly, Yuui moaned and his fingers started twitching. Tomoyo moved over to his side and felt his forehead. "King Ashura, there is a chance to slow it further, but I will need your help. There are plants with certain properties that I can make into a poultice to help ease the pain of his wounds. I'll need you to help me figure out if there are equivalent plants in this realm."
Ashura's jaw tightened, and then he let go of a deep, aggravated breath. "Fai, go to Vercasta and assist Kurogane in gathering any clues. Report back immediately after you survey the damage. You are not to engage those demons without me. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," Fai said, now looking a little brighter. He quickly left the room as Kurogane mumbled under his breath, "Spoiled brat."
Kurogane had never ridden in a sled before, let alone seen the creatures pulling it. The sled was blue and had some sort of gold crest on the back.
Fai called the twelve creature that were going to pull the sled 'reindeer'. They were thick and woolly with antlers. That's where their resemblance to deer stopped. Instead of hooves they had giant webbed feet that Fai said helped them stay above the snow.
Fai was now wearing a fluffy, white coat. He found a sable one for Kurogane and held it out, explaining it was enchanted against the cold.
"This is for sissies," he said, tossing it on the floorboard of the sled. Fai just smiled at him as he put his magic staff in the sled and hopped in. Kurogane got in the seat beside him and crossed his arms.
"Hold on tight. Leaving Luval Castle is a little bumpy," Fai warned. He held up his hand to the wide door and a pink glow shot out, swinging it aside. Kurogane changed his mind about the coat as a blast of snow hit his face. However, before he could grab it, Fai took the thick, blue reins adorned with gold bells. He shouted, "Hyuu! Hyuu!"
"What kind of asinine...?" Kurogane couldn't finish because the twelve reindeer jerked the sled and he lurched to the back against cushions. Suddenly, the sled hurdled straight downwards into a steep drop through midair. Kurogane's stomach turned as he realized that Luval was actually a floating castle high in the air with no bridge or road.
The reindeer's feet finally clopped down on the snowy landscape and they jerked the sled forward, the skids hit the ground with a bump that jarred Kurogane's teeth together. He looked over to Fai and hollered, "You son of a bitch!"
"I didn't get to know my mother so you could be right," Fai teased, giving him a playful smile. He slapped the reins down and shouted, "Hyuu! Hyuu!"
"And stop saying that! You sound like an idiot!" Kurogane shouted over the bells' jingle.
"But that's how they're trained. You'll just have to put up with it, Kuro-sama."
Kurogane gave up on the infuriating nitwit and put the coat on. The trip was bumpy, to say the least, and snow came down in torrents. Fai glanced over and finally said, "That sword you have is something special. I can sense its power."
"Ginryuu is it's name. My parents gave it to me before sending me to serve the princess. It's slayed plenty of demons."
Fai's face grew grim. "Good."
"You're a real trouble maker, aren't you?"
Fai forced a smile to his face that was too bright to be genuine. "I guess I can't deny that. I just never thought I'd ever do something to harm Yuui. I just can't..." The smile faltered. "Ashura isn't our real father. He rescued us from a rather dire situation when we were little. I swore, once we were rescued, that Yuui would never have have to suffer again." Fai's face hardened. He focused on the reins and steered the reindeer to the right.
"You're brother is very lucky. One of my father's men just died from demon poisoning. He wasn't gifted with magic. He outlasted it for almost two hours, which was a miracle." Kurogane shared that, hoping this bratty mage would get a little hope and stop moping. The more the mage pouted, the more dangerous it would be if they did encounter a demon. He needed the mage to be on top of his game.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"So stop fretting and count your blessing," Kurogane groused. He started thinking about his father. His father had sent him to serve at Princess Tomoyo's court, as it was the custom to serve a year at the age of twenty. He wanted to stay in Suwa and help his frail mother, but she insisted he go and finish his training. He never pictured part of that service would take place in another dimension outside of Nihongo.
"I will see Yuui healed," Fai declared. He yanked the reins back and shouted, "Nyet! Nyet!"
The reindeer slowed and then halted in the middle of several buildings. The buildings all had extremely slanted roofs compared to what Kurogane was used to. The walls of the buildings seem to gleam as if there were chips of glass embedded in them.
"Master Fai!" A portly man with thinning, black hair shouted as he ran towards the sled. "How is Master Yuui? Is he still ill?"
"Yes, but my guest is going to help me catch those beasts so we can heal Yuui. Please don't worry. We'll make it happen." He turned to Kurogane and said, "Yuui is extremely popular, since he's a healer. And well, he's just that special."
"But, Master Fai, you're the best hex caster in all of Celes. You'll defeat those things for sure," the man confirmed.
"We need to catch one of them to heal Yuui, so hexes aren't necessary," Fai said cheerfully, but Kurogane caught the undertone of some nervousness.
"So what are hexes? You guys think they're powerful enough to defeat a demon?" He glanced over at Fai when he stepped out of the sled.
He traced five glowing, pink symbols with his finger in the air and then lofted his staff and sent the symbols flying with an elegant swing. The symbols struck eight trees and splintered them in puffs of smoke and splinters; the remains went flying everywhere.
He admitted he had more respect for Fai's abilities now, but he was still far from holding respect for Fai as a person. He wasn't the idiot he pretended to be, which meant the mage was full of guile. This was a trait his parents had taught him to hold in scorn.
Fai put on one of those false smiles and said, "That hex was a light kiss compared some of my better moments."
Kurogane turned back to the mayor and asked, "Did any of your men try to engage them?"
"Yes. Our constables tried all sorts of binding spells to catch them. We want to do what we can to save Master Yuui, but they evaded everything and fled towards the hills."
Kurogane noted the abnormal behavior. Magic usually attracted them like the scent of blood to a pack of wild dogs. By all rights, those constables should be dead. This could make tracking and trapping the demons harder. Kurogane asked, "Where did they attack?"
"North of town. We still have the wards up to keep them out. If you need any help, I'll send some constables with you."
"Not necessary, Mayor. I'm sure my companion and I can do just fine. Just make sure everyone stays inside," Fai said, giving the man a reassuring smile.
Kurogane got out of the sled, and they walked to the northern part of town where there was a tall wood post. On top was a crystal similar to the one on Fai's staff. "What is that stuff anyway?"
"Fluorite. It represents protection on Celes. It's also the the main way we focus spells. That's why King Ashura gave us that last name." As far as Kurogane knew, there was no such thing as fluorite in Nihongo, but he kept this information to himself. Fai walked past the post with Kurogane and pointed at some broken limbs. "These things are certainly destructive."
"Yeah. Hey, do those wards put out magic?"
"Yes. It's designed to repeal. Which, it seems, they did."
"When the demons arrived, did you cast any spells at them?"
"King Ashura did. Two hexes. Why?"
"And they didn't attack the king?"
"No, they fled from him very quickly. Why?"
"I think I have an idea about what's going on with them," Kurogane said.
Fai paused and looked up into the air. The snow storm had lightened and the sky had a hazy glow. Kurogane looked up and saw what Fai was looking at. Over the distant hills the four demons were flying in lazy loops, occasionally swooping downwards, then shooting up into the air.
Fai then bolted back into town. Kurogane had a sense of dread when moments later the sled came charging towards his general direction. He quickly jumped aboard and glared at Fai. The mage ignored him, slapping down the reins.
"Are you crazy? You're father said not to do this!"
"I'm going to save my brother's life! Either you can help, Kuro-pu, or stay behind."
Kurogane settled back into the sled rather than berate Fai any more. He knew Tomoyo would expect him to guard this reckless idiot. Besides, it would give him a chance to see if his theory about the demons' behavior in Celes were true.
To be continued.
